END LAND
by Slash18
Summary: Years after the events of Wind Waker. Link, being nearly destroyed physically and emotionally by recurring nightmares, is given a chance to solve the reason for the visions. To do this, he must travel to a land where even the gods dare not go.THE END LAND
1. Prologue THE EDGE

LEGEND OF ZELDA

END LAND

PROLOGUE

THE EDGE

Long ago, in a mystical world of endless water, a young boy left his peaceful home in order to fulfill his unknown destiny. After much bloodshed and physical pain, the child began to see the carefree side of him wash away into nothingness. Any sense of his former self seemed to evaporate completely when he finally squared off against his mortal enemy. He leaped into the air, toward the towering opponent, his sword stabbing downward. Within seconds, the life of his foe fled from it's mortal prison and secretly kidnapped the boy's innocent soul, feeding upon it while departing for the depths of hell. The boy shrugged this phenomenon away and returned home, an unknown hero, but still embraced by dear family and friends. Everything seemed so peaceful and perfect.

It seemed as if his quest was complete.

If only it was true...

In the years that followed, recurring nightmares of violence and sorrow, dominated the young boy's fragile mind. It didn't take long for his personality to turn for the very worst. He became frustrated, intolerable, difficult and awkward to be around. All those he considered family and friends, quickly distanced themselves from the tortured figure, leaving him helpless and unable to cope with the emotional toll that had been dealt.

Being alone, unwanted and unloved, the boy, on the verge of entering his teens, found himself standing at the edge of a steep gorge, hesitantly looking death into it's horrid, uncertain face. This was it, the end. The end of his life, which had only seemingly just began. It wasn't fair, he thought. Why him? Why would this heavy weight of pain and suffering be placed on his shoulders? Well it didn't matter now, right? I mean, theirs no way out. No way out, but down. Down into the black sea.

Then hope dawned on him.

A blinding white light, that turned the silent night into living day, appeared from the heavens with infinite beauty. It spoke with a soft feminine voice.

"Link of Outset. Hero of the winds. Many years, we have watched your soul become torn and devastated by these visions of despair and violence. So much, in fact, that now your very life hangs by a single thread. I am the speaker of the goddesses. I'm here to offer you a way out. Another option."

"Option?" Link asked, bewildered.

"Listen closely. Sail beyond the boundaries of the charted maps. Sail south, until you strike land...That is where you must go." The voice commanded.

"Why? What will I find there?"

"You will find the answer to your unfortunate problems. Whether it will be beneficial to you or not, that is not within our control, but within your own. "

Link shook his head with his tearful eyes, emotionally and physically walking the line between death and life. What poor excuse for a life had he become?

" I don't... I don't know! It's so hard... I couldn't bear another nightmare. I couldn't... I... Their so...real!" He yelled, grabbing his throbbing head.

The voice didn't respond at first, leading the boy to believe it had parted.

"Are you still there?" Link whispered desperately. " Please don't leave me... I need help."

" Yes...I am still here." The voice answered. " Hero of winds, I cannot stop you from making your own decisions in the life you have. I can only offer you a way out. I'm sorry. Accept this task, you may. Leave it, you may as well."

" If I do. How... How will I know where to look once I get there?"

The light started to fade at this point, just like the light from a sunset would, slowly but surly.

"You will know, but heed this warning dear hero. This task will be the ultimate test of your mental and physical strength. The power of the goddesses does not venture into that land. There is no way to know what you will encounter."

" Really?" Link asked with a sigh. " Well, maybe it might help. Maybe it's the only way. What do I have to lose?"

" That is not up to me to determine. Only you. It is your soul to command hero. Your fears to face. Farewell."

Link dizzily tilted his head back. He hopped away from the edge, his fear of heights returning to him.

" Okay." He nodded. " Okay."


	2. Chapter 1 Getting there

Chapter 1 - Getting there

The sea was calm, calmer than it had been in months, but Link didn't notice. For he had other problems on his wandering, complicated mind. A small flock of seagulls followed closely behind the small, carved sailboat as it moved slowly to the edge of the known world. Link looked up at the gathering of birds and happily reflected on the memories of a simpler time. A time when darkness and evil were only the things of mere fairy tales. Children stories where good always triumphed over the shadows and love always prevailed. If only he hadn't loved his sister, Aryll, so much. Then he wouldn't of gone so far as too cast aside his precious childhood, like a worn out tunic. Now, after all he had gone through, all who he had killed, all he had suffered. His sister, like everyone else Link had held onto dear, had dismissed him... As if everything he had done, was a waste of time.

" Fairytales." Link murmured.

A ray of sunlight peered through a small gap in the dark clouds that dominated the sky.  
It extended downward onto the surface of the still water, catching the attention of his tired eyes. It was close, only a mere ten yards away, causing Link to move up to the bow of the ship, to get a better look. It was the only sunlight Link had seen in three days, and It looked so peaceful. Like innocence struggling for a place in a darkened world of sadness. Link extended his hand outward, toward the shimmering spectacle. He felt a sudden curious urge to touch it, but before his fingertips could graze the edges of the light, it vanished. A deafening sound of thunder echoed throughout the sea, causing the hair on Link's neck to stand in fright. Where was the lightning? Link shuddered with a small whimper as a gust of freezing cold wind suddenly blew over him. The sailboat quickly picked up speed. The cold, was a familiar feeling in deed. A feeling Link hadn't felt in so, so long. The coldness of death's grip.

"I should turn back." Link found himself say, as the sight of growing darkness emerged out from the far distance.

It only took a few seconds for Link to admit It was far too late to turn back now, the darkness was approaching quickly... and it would catch up with him regardless of what he did... Despite all this, as the blackness swallowed up his little sailboat, the young hero's conscious sobbed in regret.

What followed was mostly a blur to Link. There were short periods of white flashes, all sudden and far apart. They would illuminate the dark abyss, revealing what little was hidden to begin with. The boat rocked back and forth violently, crashing against the mammoth waves of the powerful storm. He grasped onto the mast of the ship, his eyes shut tight. Just let it end, let it end, Link prayed silently. His pleas for help were quickly silenced, as the storm's fury and rage quickly intensified. He had been through several storms before. Several bad ones in fact. But this was nothing like a storm... This was something else entirely.

"Not a storm..." Link whispered.

He couldn't even hear the sound of his own voice anymore, but someone could, and someone was quick to respond,

"Your right." A deep voice chuckled behind him with a horse cough. " It isn't."

Link opened his eyes as the boat began to climb up the slope of a mountain of sea water. A figure cloaked in black sat at the stern. It's head lowered, smoking a long pipe casually.

"What is it then?" Link asked.

The figure's head rose at the question, revealing the face of a familiar foe.

"It's not a storm..." Ganondorf explained. " That's for certain."

"Then what is it?" Link repeated, seemingly oblivious to the sight of the man who had literally ruined his life forever.

Ganondorf shrugged and breathed out a cloud of smoke with a sigh.

" I don't know...I thought you would of." He replied.

Link shut his eyes again as the ship leveled at the top the wave.

" Well, I don't. How am I supposed to know?" The hero shouted annoyingly. " What are you doing here anyway?"

Ganon rose to his feet and approached the shivering boy, grabbing the mast with one hand.

" Um... I don't... Well, I think this is where they sent me...They sent me here I think. You know? Them...and you."

Link forced a nod and gulped. Ganon couldn't help but find himself grinning at the seemingly weak boy, his opponent had become.

"Your a very brave boy, you know? Braver then all the others who tried to defy me in the past. That's a lot of dead men, by the way."

" Th..Tha...Thanks." Link managed to say.

The hero felt a hand pat his shoulder playfully.

"You'll be fine. You really shouldn't worry about what's coming. Why should you? It's coming anyway. Right?" Ganon joked as he threw his pipe into the ferocious sea.

Link chuckled as the boat tilted downward, over the edge.

"So, how is this the ideal place for a permanent residence anyway?" Link asked with a fake smirk.

Ganon tightened his grip around the mast, causing it to splinter into two pieces. The sail crashed over the boat, covering Link's soaking body. Though he could no longer see Ganondorf, the chilling voice still came through crystal clear.

"Never said it was..."

Then the boat fell downward. It fell, fell, and fell. Toward the coming darkness, and the coming future.


End file.
